Red wine mac 'n' cheese. It's the future!

Five things I cannot stand:

1. Being interrupted. Working with little kids means I have to deal with it every day on some level. But it's alright. They make up for it by being so damn happy all the time.

2. The Hammersmith and City line. Especially at 7:30 am. Again, unfortunately that's a daily annoyance.

3. Collateral damage in action movies. That was someone's car!!

4. When people try to set me up with their single friend, just because we're both single. It's the only thing we have in common. It's always awkward. It's always blatant. No.

5. Mac 'n' cheese with not enough cheese in it. There is nothing more infuriating than dry pasta with a thin crispy layer of cheese on it. Nothing. (Okay, the Hammersmith and City line is worse. So is your single friend.)

I bet you know where this is going. Mac 'n' cheese anyone?! (Hint: the answer is "yes, always".)

Drinking whilst cooking. Or cooking whilst drinking? (It's a whiskey-coke.)

The solution to the dry-as-the-desert mac 'n' cheese dilemma is of course a cheese sauce. You may laugh at this obvious comment but I've eaten my fair share of dry macaroni topped with a bit of shredded cheese. Those who do know about the importance of cheese sauce usually have a preferred recipe. Until recently, I was not one of those people. Oh the shame! Then I watched the cheese episode of How To Cook Like Heston with Heston Blumenthal… he of the (in)famous bacon and egg ice cream. I'd heard that it was "kind of sciency", based on exact melting points and all that jazz. I don't have a very scientific/mathematical brain. Adding and subtracting in my head is so much effort that I practically have to take my shoes and socks off. Converting measurements and oven temperatures makes me dizzy. I have to sit down and have a sugary snack to make the feeling go away. So i was prepared to be put off. Nope, I was so fascinated that I started taking notes. I am in awe of how Heston's brain works, and how he has used his talent to perfect cooking basics such as the perfect boiled egg. 

Anyway. Cheese! Heston made an amazing cheese sauce. Instead of the age-old roux idea, he uses stock, white wine, parmesan cheese and a bit of cornflour, et voila! Perfect cheese sauce! I was intrigued. Of course, this is me we're talking about. It's been slightly, erm, `'tweaked`' through necessity rather than choice. Heston's recipe calls for chicken stock…. as a vegetarian, that's not going to happen, so I used veggie broth. Then, a few days ago, I really fancied some mac 'n' cheese, but had no white wine. Oops. We had red wine though. Red wine mac 'n' cheese… Blasphemy? I hesitated, then threw all caution to the wind and got to work.

 

The results were surprisingly delicious, if I do say so myself. The red wine gave the cheese sauce a nice earthy taste (especially with added mushrooms). My dinner companions agreed. Sure, the sauce isn't what you would consider a "traditional" mac 'n' cheese colour, but throw in lots of broccoli, top it with some cheddar and crispy fried onions and trust me, nobody will care.  

PS: I like a lot of cheese sauce in my mac 'n' cheese… If you don't, then just halve the measurements required for the sauce. Though I honestly don't know why you would want to. Weirdo.

PPS: sweetcorn and some fried mushrooms stirred in would make this the best meal ever, no?

PPPS: There will be no leftovers.

Red wine mac 'n' cheese

You will need:

- 600ml red wine (or just white wine, if I'm really grossing you out)

-600ml veggie stock (chicken stock if you're not veggie)

-160g parmesan cheese, grated, plus the rind

- 200g philadelphia

- 2-3 tbsp cornflour

- a head of broccoli, cut into small florets, and the stem cut into batons

- 2 red onions, finely sliced

- 300g macaroni

- 250g cheddar cheese, grated

For the sauce:

In a pot, reduce your wine from 600ml down to 60ml. Add your stock, chuck the parmesan rind into the pot, and leave it to simmer and infuse for 20 minutes. Then add the grated parmesan to the liquid. Make sure the liquid isn't boiling when you add the cheese. Stir it in until it is just dissolved. Add the cornflour and stir until the sauce starts to thicken. Lastly, add the philadelphia and stir it in, then stop stirring.

For the other bits and bobs:

While the wine and the stock are simmering, start preparing the onions. Throw some oil and a knob of butter into a pan, add the onions and fry them up a bit, then turn the heat down low. Stir regularly and cook slowly until they are brown and looking crispy but not burnt, about 20 minutes. When they're ready, set aside.

About 5 minutes before the stock is ready for the cheese, add the pasta to boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions. Add the broccoli florets 3 minutes before the pasta has finished cooking (although be aware that the stalk batons will take a couple of minutes longer to cook). Drain and set aside.

When everything is ready, set your oven to grill at 200 C (my oven heats up quickly, but if your's is slow to get going, turn it on earlier). Pour the pasta-broccoli mix into a casserole dish and stir in the sauce. Top it with the cheddar cheese (the amount is just a rough guideline, of course) and then top the whole thing off by spreading the fried onions evenly over it. Pop it in the oven and grill it for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and a bit crunchy-looking at the sides.

Not glamorous. But tasty.